Painting hives

[linoleum bonypart]

Just popped into my local Sandtex trade centre and they will mix masonry paint to about 77 colours.... Now I just wondered if any of you are into creatively decorating hives and if so post your pics for us to see... Or is everyone into white -

 

[For want of a better word]

My Beehivesupplies Polliesneares now painted in every shade of green blue and yellow... and the little girls ( and their mum) at my have added butterflies dragonflies and wonderful flowers in a rainbow of colours!
They took a trip to the Eden Project and saw the Cornish Black Native bees in their psychedelic BHS beehives and said they just had to have the same!

Athhough I must admit I preferr my WBC's in traditional white!


WASSAIL!

( Tis Old Twelthe Night... the Green man will be at Llandhylyk this afternoon and Old Rilla near Kellywick Cornwall for Midnight)

Yeghes da


Beekeepers have Orchards!!

 

[Plenty of honey]

Just bought some santex in Jersey on my xmas visit. 5 litres Of "MAGNOLIA"
But for only £15, the same stuff in another colour was £10 more!
It was good paint too, covered well and still got plenty left!

 

[Tremyfro]

My Polys are painted in pastel colours, lemon, pink, pale blue, pale green and cream. I painted one of my Beehaus pale blue. I have yet to do the others....it was far too wet to paint them. I can see that I will have to bring them into the house to dry properly first.
I like the idea of painting flowers on them....might do that to some of them....with winding ivy leaves.....hmmmm.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Just popped into my local Sandtex trade centre and they will mix masonry paint to about 77 colours.... Now I just wondered if any of you are into creatively decorating hives and if so post your pics for us to see... Or is everyone into white -

Mine are drab brown or green. If they aren't noticeable they aren't attracting unwanted attention. However in winter they have shiny Cellotex hive cosies but winter quarters are secluded.

 

[madasafish]

Mine are drab brown or green. If they aren't noticeable they aren't attracting unwanted attention. However in winter they have shiny Cellotex hive cosies but winter quarters are secluded.

+1 for the hives.

I paint my cosies as well..on all year.

 

[Swarm]

This is one of mine. I have others that are dark oak like the supers.

 

[Erichalfbee]

This is one of mine. I have others that are dark oak like the supers.

I've said before.....a work of art.
Are they freehand or do you have some sort of stencil?

 

[Swarm]

Freehand. They don't stand out as much as you'd think.

 

[Karol]

Very strongly recommend you avoid bright yellows and to a lesser extent oranges. These colours but predominantly yellows attract insects which in turn will attract hunting wasps. Not clever for a bee hive!

 

[Swarm]

Very strongly recommend you avoid bright yellows and to a lesser extent oranges. These colours but predominantly yellows attract insects which in turn will attract hunting wasps. Not clever for a bee hive!

Not had a wasp problem.

 

[For want of a better word]

Not had a wasp problem.

Me neither... but then we use a wasp repellent design!


Wassail

 

[YorkshireBees]

This is one of mine. I have others that are dark oak like the supers.

Brilliant looking but I'm like the others and prefer dark green or colours that blend in for hiding my hives.

I do like the paint job on the supers, makes them look like wood!

 

[Millet]

Very strongly recommend you avoid bright yellows and to a lesser extent oranges. These colours but predominantly yellows attract insects which in turn will attract hunting wasps. Not clever for a bee hive!

I 100% agree from experience that Yellow particularly is a magnet for wasps any time of the year, all the vehicles where i worked many moons ago where yellow and we got tortured with wasps, they just seemed to keep coming, i even witnessed a wasp one day picking a fly of the windscreen of the lorry.

Also if you go on any building site when wasps are active you can see the working folk who have to wear high viz ability clothing waving there arms about all day long trying to get rid of the wasps, and when the fields get cut they get covered in little black beetles..

 

[Beecarer]

When I went to the paint store and asked for some advice on painting the poly hives, they suggested first using a primer for difficult substrates. The product they had was called 'Crown Trade Grip Extreme' which was followed by 3 coats of the masonry paint, using a mini roller you will have them painted very quickly once you get into it. They are light enough to hold from the inside with one hand and paint with the other flipping them around as you go.

http://www.crowntrade.co.uk/product/interior-products/crown-trade-grip-extreme-fast-drying-primer

Paint suppliers can mix any colour you want, a very good green that blends in with natural vegetation is RAL Colour – 160 20 10, Kingspan call it 'Juniper Green', perfect if you want to camouflage your hives in the countryside.

 

[Tom Bick]

Does anyone actually paint their hives with designs similar to what you can see on the Internet.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Me neither... but then we use a wasp repellent design!


Wassail

I did try an insect repellant design on one of my hives once, but all my bees disappeared.

 

[madasafish]

When I went to the paint store and asked for some advice on painting the poly hives, they suggested first using a primer for difficult substrates.

Paint suppliers can mix any colour you want, a very good green that blends in with natural vegetation is RAL Colour – 160 20 10, Kingspan call it 'Juniper Green', perfect if you want to camouflage your hives in the countryside.

I have painted a poly hive with Juniper green gloss straight from the Hamnerite tin with no primer. Still perfect after 2 years..

 

[Erichalfbee]

I use gloss out of a spray can.
Dries super quickly for the next coat.
Usually two coats does it.

 

[linoleum bonypart]

I do like the juniper green ... I'm not sure the primer is needed... We have a new crown centre in town so handy